Lang happy to take over Jolly Donut

PERKINS TWP. — As an experienced restaurateur, Josh Lang understands the importance of preserving and protecting an eatery enjoyed by many. So rather than instituting radical, wide-sweeping changes, he intends to sprinkle in minor tweaks here and there so people can still enjoy their breakfasts, coffee and, of course, doughnuts at a local landmark. Josh, a 2002 Edison High School graduate, recently became the owner of Jolly Donut. It's located on Milan Road (U.S. 250) in Sandusky near the East Perkins Avenue intersection. He took the business over from Christine "Chris" Fresch, who's stayed on in an advisory role and continues to do so. "This place has always been special to me," said Josh, who's opened and operated several successful businesses and restaurants in metropolitan areas nationwide, including in Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C. "What now excites me is preservation, preserving things in my hometown that are so special," said Josh, who's had a yearning for a return to Ohio for a few years. "That is what is so exciting about all of this to me. And since I coach middle school football at Edison, I needed something in my schedule that I could have afternoons off." Josh no longer wanted to feel like a stranger in his hometown. Jolly Donut then not only allows him to re-establish his presence and emerge as a community fixture but also maintain his passion for the restaurant industry. "It's important to me to build relationships here in the community I grew up," Josh said. "The best way for me to do that authentically is to coach football where I went to school and take over a great business like the Jolly Donut." Subtle changes For the past year or so, Fresch had put the building — and, with it, the business — up for sale. "I've been trying to retire and slow down a little bit," said Fresch, who's owned the business for about 16 years. Fresch noted the actual brick-and-mortar business became Jolly Donut in 1978. But the actual building first arrived in Sandusky in the mid-1950s, then known as Miranda's Diner. Back in September, Josh and his father, Scott, stopped at Jolly Donut for breakfast before work — a longstanding Lang family tradition shared for decades by Josh, his father, his uncles, and his grandfather, Emil "Sonny" Lang. It was during that breakfast that Josh struck up a conversation with then-owner Fresch. What began as a casual chat over coffee and doughnuts soon turned into a discussion about Jolly's future. Josh, who didn't intend to buy a restaurant on that very morning, ended up doing so. "We just started talking, and, over the next half-year, we went back and forth on the details, and that's how we got to where we are at now." While Fresch didn't place any restrictions on Josh, he did want to respect what his predecessors built before him without alienating Jolly Donut's loyal fanbase. "There was some fear (among customers and staff) that, when I came in here, there would be a lot of changes," Josh said. "But I told the staff that I wasn't going to change much at all. Why mess with something that has been so successful?" Josh vowed to maintain Jolly Donut's: • Name, since even just saying "Jolly Donut" often puts a smile on people's faces • Classic, vintage-style roadside diner look, which consists of the bright orange sign spelling out "Jolly Donut" out front and counter seats running parallel with cozy booths • Operational hours, one of the few area diners still welcoming in customers seven days a week while opening early each morning • Recipes for its homemade made-from-scratch doughnuts, baked fresh overnight and sold in a variety of fillings, flavors and toppings But Josh does aim to make some minor tweaks to the menu. For instance, he's adding a variety of coffee drinks, serving smashburgers, experimenting with different doughnut flavors and toppings while even offering area delivery options. "All of the favorites have been kept. And for our oldest customers, they can even order 'off the menu' to still get what they'd like," Josh said. "But now we have some more modern options, like breakfast sandwiches, bagels, avocado toasts and more. Everything here tastes really good." Fresch feels comfortable entrusting the business to Josh, realizing he has everyone's best interests — which would include the restaurant's legacy, the customers and the employees — at heart. "He's been really good about everything," Fresch said. In turn, Josh expressed his deepest appreciation for Fresch, serving as a mentor to him. "I didn't know the customer base when I first came here, but she did, and that's why I wanted her to stay on," Josh said. "I wanted her to not only pass on all of her knowledge but help be a bridge so the customers and employees could trust me as they trust her. That's really important to me. That's how you build relationships. Without her, this would have been really rocky." No matter new or existing, Josh welcomes all to enjoy a meal at Jolly Donut. "For those who have been coming here for nearly 50 years or who have never been here before, I can promise you that you will have an experience that isn't like anywhere else," Josh said. "It's a very unique space: from the build-out, the aesthetics, and you can still get offerings here that you would at a modern cafe. That's important to a lot of people, getting good food at an affordable rate by nice people." Customers chime in Many loyalists of Jolly Donut visit the diner every day, sitting in the exact same seat while ordering the same meal daily. While they all initially expressed some hesitation with an ownership change, four in particular breathed a huge sigh of relief when actually seeing how the essence of Jolly Donut remained intact Among the 40-plus-year-long customers who offered their opinion: • Paul Fox, whose favorite meal is the trash plate, an egg concoction with potatoes, sausage, green peppers, onion, cheese and mushrooms smothered in gravy: "I come in here every day, at 6:30 a.m., and I meet my friends and enjoy spending time with them. It's tough to find a place open this early seven days a week. You don't find many people who want to work that." • Grover Ritter, whose favorite meal is the French toast: "I need breakfast every day, and I'm by myself. My wife passed away two years ago, and this place has been the best option for me. I'm thankful for it. I understand things change and people change, but I'm happy this has stayed the same. Even with a new owner, the prices really didn't go up, and it's reasonable." • Dennis Deitenbeck, whose favorite meal is the blueberry pancakes: "I'm very happy with these developments. Just like the previous owners, the new owner talks to you and treats you like a friend. They know you by name, and they know what I want to eat. It's like being at home. My wife passed away, and I don't cook, and I have to eat, so this works for me." • Darrel Goff, whose favorite meal is also the trash plate: "All of the customers here, we are like a family. If one of us isn't here or feeling well, the others know and keep track of that. We all look out for one another. And it's hard to find a good breakfast place that's close. I also like bringing in flowers. It's my way of showing appreciation for what everyone does for all of us customers." Josh thanks them all and others who continue to support Jolly Donut. "This is a true institution of Sandusky, and it means a lot to a lot of people," Josh said. "For so many of our customers, this is part of their daily routine. We have so many people coming in here seven days a week and even more coming weekly or even monthly." Many of these customers have a family connection to Josh. For instance, Josh's uncle, Butch, has rented out a warehouse from Fox for decades. And Ritter graduated from high school with Sonny. "It's great coming in here and hearing stories about my family members," Josh said. For Fresch, the hardest part about selling Jolly Donut and working less revolves around her love for the customers. "They become your friends. They become your family," Fresch said. "You get so attached to them." History lesson For the past 48 years, the diner car at 2815 Milan Road (U.S. 250) has gone by Jolly Donut. But the actual building's origins date even farther back. The restaurant's foundation, laid out across two massive pieces through a prefabrication process, arrived in Sandusky on a flatbed in the mid-1950s, Fresch said. Upon arriving, the business went by Miranda's Diner and later became Sands Diner and a Mister Donut franchise before evolving into Jolly Donut in 1978. Miranda's Diner came from the Mountain View Diners Co., operating from 1939 to 1957, which manufactured prefabricated diners and shipped them in areas mostly throughout New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. The New Jersey-based company's motto: "A mountain-view diner will last a lifetime." The company's diner models often incorporated a late Art Deco-styling look, characterized by geometric shapes, repetitive symmetry and high-contrast colors with a stainless-steel exterior — a look still maintained by present-day Jolly Donut. Diners came shipped to fit narrow, awkwardly shaped parking lots — still the case with Jolly Donut today — and were able to be quickly assembled for turnkey operations. While neither Fresch nor Josh are certain of the original owner, they did acknowledge those preceding them, running some version of what ended up becoming Jolly Donut today. They are, in order, Ernie Buathier, Art Watson, Pat James and Denise Toccaceli. To honor the restaurant's legacy, an oversized ground tile with a large "M" can be found near Jolly Donut's entrance, an homage to Miranda's Diner. The tile has remained intact for more than 70 years. There's also a plaque recognizing the Mountain View Diner Co. with the No. 414, hanging above the main entrance. This represents the 414th restaurant the company made.